Students punching teachers in the face, setting lockers on fire, trespassing - turmoil has reached a boiling point at West Philadelphia High School.
West Philadelphia High, which had been experiencing major discipline problems over the past month, saw former Principal Clifton James fired by the Philadelphia School District last week, but the move has only prompted more violence on several of the school's teachers and students.
At least 18 teachers have been attacked this school year, with seven coming in the last two weeks.
Students randomly "take a bunch of paper, a lighter and light lockers on fire," said Maleak Taylor, a 16-year-old sophomore at West Philadelphia High. "It's just chaos."
Principal James's departure has prompted significant intervention by the Philadelphia school board and an increased police presence on campus.
Two temporary principals - Ozzie Wright and Ernestine Caldwell - have filled the vacancy created by James's ousting.
Each will focus on a specific part of managing the school: Caldwell will concentrate her energies on academics, while Wright, previously the head of a military academy, will concentrate on discipline and school safety.
And switching principals is only the beginning of a series of dramatic changes for West Philadelphia High School.
The school board already had plans to demolish the current building, located at 48th and Walnut streets, and build a new campus across the street over the next two years.
It also was planning on gradually transforming certain neighborhood middle schools into high schools, a solution that would reduce the population of the 1,100-student high school by redistributing its students to these new institutions.
The recent events, however, have prompted the school board to speed up the process.
"We are accelerating the transformation of the feeder schools into small high schools," said Fernando Gallard, a spokesman for the Philadelphia School District. "That's a substantial step."
Gallard explained that this was the beginning of a larger plan for schools in the area in an attempt to develop a system of schools with reduced student populations.
"West Philadelphia High School, as it is, is being phased out into a number of small high schools," he said.
Despite the recent turmoil, the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project, a Penn program in which University students tutor at West Philadelphia High School, does not plan on changing its programs at the school.
"Right now, nothing is going to change in terms of our partnerships with West Philadelphia High School," said WPTP executive board member Saken Kulkarni. "There is still a need for tutoring there, and, despite what happened, the kids still appreciate us being there."
Yet, after the recent events at the high school, the challenge of maintaining an environment that is both conducive to learning and safe, has become all the more challenging.
And according to Taylor, despite an increased number of police officers on campus and the changes in faculty, plenty of trouble persists.
"There's so many cops, and people are still fighting and still getting away with it," he said. "That shows a lot."
